Page 39: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2010)

www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 39

Fugro Renewables

Acquires ERT

Plans for new offshore windfarms and wave or tidal device installations are subject to stringent marine envi- ronmental impact studies prior to approval. To provide these required studies, Fugro has acquired ERT (Scotland) Ltd., an Edinburgh-based marine environmental consultancy, to add another service to those already provided by Fugro

Renewables. “From feasibility studies and initial assessments to site surveys and investigations, construction serv- ices, and ultimately, decommission- ing, Fugro provides a full-range of marine renewable energy expertise for the rising challenges and opportuni- ties around the globe,” said Tony

Hodgson, Fugro’s Global Business

Development Manager, Renewable

Energy. ERT’s environmental con- sultants, working with the Fugro team, will be able to ensure that each project has a smooth consent process by developing an effective approach to environmental planning. This involves clear project understanding, effective communication and a flexi- ble approach to project changes.

Services of particular relevance to the marine renewables sector include: environmental issues identification workshops; environmental scoping; environmental impact assessment; and stakeholder consultation. These ‘tools’ are supported by a full range of environmental monitoring and ana- lytical services ensuring an integrated approach to environmental manage- ment planning. “The ERT team of highly qualified and experienced marine environmental scientists con- ducts survey, monitoring, consulting and reporting services that are sup- ported by in-house chemistry and marine biology laboratories,” said Pat

Power, Managing Director of Fugro

GeoConsulting. “ERT’s service is a perfect fit with our Integrated Earth

Science Consulting service; they complement the existing Fugro

Environmental Survey business and enhance the benefits we can deliver to a growing number of clients.” www.fugro.com

L-3 Wins $24m Deal

L-3 Ocean Systems won a $24m firm fixed-price contract from the

Egyptian Navy for its Low Frequency

Active Towed Sonar (LFATS) system.

LFATS is a long-range active/passive variable depth sonar used by surface ships to detect modern diesel-electric submarine threats. The contract is valued at $24 million with options, if exercised, which would increase the value to $27 million. The LFATS sys- tem is small, lightweight and can be easily installed on any class of ship without structural modifications. It consists of an operator console, power amplifier, towed body and handling system. Designed with an open archi- tecture configuration to accommo- date future technology, LFATS can be used in a standalone mode or inte- grated into the ship’s combat system. www.L-3com.com/OS $1.55M Order for Sonardyne

SapuraAcergy will become the first company in South East Asia with Sonardyne’s new 6G (Sixth

Generation) acoustic positioning technology. The subsea engineering and installation contractor has taken delivery of over $1.55m worth of 6G products from

Sonardyne for use in projects in

South East Asia.

SapuraAcergy is upgrading its conventional and deepwater con- struction vessel, Sapura 3000. The vessel’s existing Sonardyne Ranger

Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) posi- tioning system will be upgraded to the latest Ranger 2 standard that interfaces with the new 6G product range. In addition to the upgrade,

Sonardyne is trialling its Lodestar subsea Inertial Navigation System on the

Sapura 3000’s ROV system to improve pipe touch-down monitoring. Over the next two years, SapuraAcergy will, use the 6G equipment for precise positioning of structures and pipelines on projects in South East Asia. The new range of Sonardyne 6G products has been developed to produce navi- gation, positioning and communications solutions for a wide range of sub- sea operations.